A NEOPHYTE in competitive sport, electronic sports (e-sports) has been working its way into the global spotlight rapidly. Although relatively new to the scene, e-sports in the Philippines can be traced back to the early 2000s when it still had little to no coverage by major media outlets.
Despite the initial struggle for recognition, e-sports has emerged as a widely popular avenue of entertainment and competition in recent years. In 2016, around 43 million viewers from all over the world watched that year’s League of Legends (LoL) World Championships, with viewership in the final matchup tallying at 14.7 M.
In the context of campus gaming culture, the e-sports scene has gone leaps and bounds since emerging from the shadows of more conventional sporting competitions. Electronic gaming has hit unprecedented growth–igniting a revolution and sparking the birth of communities dedicated to propelling the craft into greater prominence.
New heights
A number of gamers have decided to bring online gaming to a whole new level by competing in various tournaments for digital supremacy, while incorporating grit, grind, and teamwork into the mix. The most popular multiple online battle arenas, such as LoL and the Defense of The Ancients (DOTA) 2, attract many players as free-to-play games.
Following the global trend, the e-sports phenomenon has found its way into Philippine soil such that many Filipinos today invest a great deal of time and effort in casual gaming. In particular, Ateneo e-sports teams have been active at events such as the LoL Collegiate League (LCL) held last May 28 and the Impetus DOTA 2 tournament last June 24 and 25, proving that “one big fight” can be brought online as well.
The LCL was modeled after a similar tournament held in the United States where various universities from around the country are invited to compete for the crown. Ateneo’s Azure Eagles performance was impressive at the tournament, with the Blue and White squad managing to knock a Top 16 finish.
Impetus, on the other hand, gathered teams representing the eight constituent schools of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). ADMU Saltstack, the Ateneo’s representative DOTA 2 team, broke out as a top contender by bagging the silver medal after a terrific preliminary run.
The leap
The positive developments in the ever-evolving e-sports scene testifies not only to the amount of talent within the student body, but to the ability of multiplayer video games to build communities among students and link networks of gamers united by passion. Such bridges of mutual interest were key to forming groups which pushed gaming skills to a more competitive level, according to ADMU Saltstack Captain and legal management senior Sonson Ledesma.
“We just got together, a group of people who were kind of good at the game,” says Ledesma. “We didn’t necessarily know each other at first so we had to start from scratch, but we just had to fill every position with good players.”
The jump from casual gaming to intercollegiate competition is not an easy task. There is no strategy that guarantees a win. Like any athlete of physical sports, a player must develop and adapt to different strategies to come out on top.
For management information systems senior Jacob Chua of the Azure Eagles, the transition from casual to competitive was not too difficult. “[Going from casual to competitive] wasn’t difficult mostly because the team was so accepting and easy to get along with,” shares Chua. “They made it easy for me to adjust to the style of play, and they just shared and taught me their playing style.”
Bright future
ADMU Saltstack continues the quest for glory for the Blue and White with a potent mindset. Despite an impressive run throughout the Impetus tournament, the team fell short of the championship. The loss, however, did not dampen the spirits of the five-man contingent.
“If you’re competing, [you should] always go for first place. If you’re not going for first place, you’re not competing at all,” Ledesma says. “If you want to go high, you really have to aim for the top.”
Although still far from being considered as a major competitive sport, e-sports in the Philippines has come a long way from its digital roots. Tessa Calanoc, an LoL-caster at Rappler Gaming League, says that it is possible for Filipinos to gain even more stature and influence in the field of e-sports.
“I feel like there is a lot of untapped potential simply because there is not enough investment made to support competitive gaming teams and organizations,” comments Calanoc, as she compared the Philippines with countries that have a more developed e-gaming scene, such as South Korea, China, and the United States.
Despite this, the future looks bright for Atenean gamers and the e-sports community given that more attention is being given to these on-screen competitions all over the world. As more and more people flip the switch from casual to competitive gaming, e-sports’ digital playground is only expected to expand even further.
